• Research Briefing

    English Devolution and Community Empowerment Bill: HL Bill 150 of 2024–26

    The government states the English Devolution and Community Empowerment Bill is a “landmark” piece of legislation. Arguing that England is one of the most centralised developed countries, it says the bill would transfer power to England’s regions, “fix the foundations” of local government, empower communities and “drive growth”. However, some opposition members argue the measures would instead centralise decision making and have criticised the lack of accountability measures for mayors.

  • Research Briefing

    Biodiversity Beyond National Jurisdiction Bill: HL Bill 148 of 2024–26

    The Biodiversity Beyond National Jurisdiction Bill is intended to align UK law with an international agreement on the conservation and sustainable use of marine biodiversity in areas beyond national jurisdiction, the 'high seas'. The bill would enable the UK to enforce compliance for UK craft with internationally agreed protections, such as marine protected areas. It would also set out requirements for UK-based projects collecting genetic resources.

  • Research Briefing

    Victims and Courts Bill: HL Bill 141 of 2024-26

    The Victims and Courts Bill would introduce various justice reforms, including: compelling offenders to attend their sentencing hearings, restricting parental responsibility for certain sex offenders and clarifying victims’ rights for making disclosures relating to criminal conduct. The bill would also introduce measures to extend the powers of the victims’ commissioner, expand the eligibility for appointing crown prosecutors and increase sentencing review time limits for law officers under the unduly lenient sentences scheme.

  • Research Briefing

    Sentencing Bill: HL Bill 142 of 2024–26

    The Sentencing Bill is a government bill that started in the House of Commons. It received its first reading in the House of Lords on 30 October 2025 and is scheduled to have its second reading in the House of Lords on 12 November 2025.

  • Research Briefing

    Diego Garcia Military Base and British Indian Ocean Territory Bill

    The Diego Garcia Military Base and British Indian Ocean Territory Bill would provide for the implementation of the UK-Mauritius agreement on the Chagos archipelago in UK domestic law ahead of the government ratifying the treaty. In particular it would end UK sovereignty over the archipelago and make certain consequential changes to nationality law, while also providing for the continued administration of the existing joint UK-US military base on the island of Diego Garcia.

  • Research Briefing

    Sustainable Aviation Fuel Bill: HL Bill 138 of 2024-26

    The Sustainable Aviation Fuel Bill is a government bill. It was introduced in the House of Lords on 20 October 2025 and is due to receive its second reading on 20 November 2025. The bill would introduce a revenue certainty mechanism to support the production of sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) in the UK. It would do this by designating a counterparty (a company wholly owned by the government) to engage in contracts with SAF producers to guarantee the price of the sale of eligible SAF. The government has said that SAF is one of the most effective ways to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from aviation, as SAF is a ‘drop-in fuel’ that does not require modifications to existing aircraft. Current supply of SAF is limited. The government has claimed the bill would support SAF production in the UK by providing revenue certainty and thereby reducing risk to investors in SAF production facilities. There was broad cross-party support for the bill during its House of Commons stages.

  • Research Briefing

    Licensing Hours Extensions Bill: HL Bill 119 of 2024–25

    The Licensing Hours Extensions Bill is a private member’s bill which would amend the Licensing Act 2003 so that licensing orders to allow a temporary extension to licensing hours could be made by the secretary of state by statutory instrument subject to the negative procedure, rather than requiring the affirmative parliamentary procedure.

  • Research Briefing

    Deprivation of Citizenship Orders (Effect during Appeal) Bill: HL Bill 127 of 2024–25

    The Deprivation of Citizenship Orders (Effect during Appeal) Bill is a government bill comprising a single substantive clause. It follows a Supreme Court judgment in February 2025 which held that anyone deprived of British citizenship automatically regains that status following a successful initial appeal. The bill would provide for deprivation orders to continue to have legal effect until any onward appeals had been determined.

  • Research Briefing

    Crime and Policing Bill: HL Bill 111 of 2024–25

    The Crime and Policing Bill is broad in scope and would include measures aimed at tackling anti-social behaviour, knife crime, violence against women and girls, theft, child sexual abuse, other sexual offending, youth radicalisation and more. It would also contain provisions relating to police powers and misconduct investigations.

  • Research Briefing

    Space Industry (Indemnities) Bill: HL Bill 120 of 2024–25

    The Space Industry (Indemnities) Bill is a private member’s bill, supported by the government, that would amend the Space Industry Act 2018 to require all spaceflight operator licences to specify a limit on a licence holder's liability for damage or loss. This is intended to encourage investment in the UK space industry by ensuring that operators are not subject to unlimited liability.

  • Research Briefing

    Absent Voting (Elections in Scotland and Wales) Bill: HL Bill 116 of 2024–25

    The Absent Voting (Elections in Scotland and Wales) Bill is a private member’s bill which seeks to align the rules regarding applying online for absent voting (postal or proxy votes) in Scotland and Wales with rules in England. While voters can currently apply for absent votes in several elections online, this does not include local elections in Scotland and Wales and elections to the Scottish Parliament and Senedd. Absent votes can still be applied for but must be done via a paper form. The bill also includes provisions giving the Scottish and Welsh governments powers to include an identity verification requirement on absent voting applications. It would also align postal voting renewal cycles. The bill is sponsored by Lord Murphy of Torfaen (Labour) and is scheduled to have its second reading on 5 September 2025. The bill passed its Commons stages with only technical amendments and received cross-party support.

  • Research Briefing

    Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill: HL Bill 112 of 2024–25

    The Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill would allow adults in England and Wales with a prognosis of less than six months to live to be provided with assistance to end their lives, subject to eligibility criteria and conditions. It is a private member’s bill that was introduced in the House of Commons by Kim Leadbeater (Labour MP for Spen Valley). It completed its passage through the Commons in June 2025. Its second reading in the House of Lords is due to take place on 12 September 2025.

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